Broker

Chapter 218

Pandora?

In between the decades of senselessness that came and went in this terrible place, Sonya had rallied herself to take stock of the mysterious world around her. She was keenly aware that it wasn’t real, but it also seemed to obey many of the rules of reality. It had other rules as well, other truths that she’d slowly, painstakingly uncovered in her efforts to cling tightly to a sanity that this place seemed hell bent on stripping from her. 

The first was that it was somehow centered on Titania. While her memory was foggy in places she could remember that the periods of madness and confusion only began when Titania left the court for one reason or another. This truth only became more pronounced as she noticed a deeply unsettling familiarity in Titania. The woman had two sides; one side was the fae queen of the distant past, reacting and engaging in events as they unfolded. That side paid Sonya little mind beyond getting her kicks now and then. The other was entirely focused on her, fixated on stripping away any ounce of independence and self determination Sonya possessed. It had begun showing itself the moment she remembered her name.

The second rule was that the secondary ‘personality’ in the first rule had limitations. It had no control over the events of this place and could only attempt to interfere with her thoughts when it was nearby.  It was like Sonya was living through an interactive snapshot of some mythological past. Titania was the source, but not the narrator. This truth hadn’t come cheaply, Sonya had tested the boundaries of what she could say and do, prodding at the logical foundation of this place in order to see whether or not the people here besides herself and Titania were independent or not. She’d been caught a few times. The punishments hadn’t been pleasant. Though they’d helped her strengthen her mental defenses.

All that was to say that when she heard what Loki was saying, it meant that not only did he trust her with that information. It meant that Pandora or at least a facsimile possessing Pandora’s memories, was somewhere very close by.

I need to find her.

Sonya forced herself to focus on the conversation, “That couldn’t have been easy,” she said.

“Oh no it most certainly wasn’t,” Loki laughed, “Fortunately for me I’m pretty good at disguises and an apt performer.”

“Have you told Titania yet?” she asked.

“Nope,” they said, crossing their arms, “I’m telling you first, figured you might think it was impressive especially the how,” they tilted their chin up proudly. “I passed myself off as King Giglamesh himself and spirited her away. Not even Heimdal could tell I wasn’t the genuine article.”

She still could barely wrap her head around the mess of politics that made up the interactions between the various groups, but something about that statement made her furrow her brows, “Why would Odin let Gilgamesh into Asgard? Even if Odin has been playing friendly with the Golden Throne, that seems a little lax, doesn’t it?”

Loki smiled brightly and held up a finger, “Aha! That’s where you’re wrong. Odin may be a crotchety old bastard but he’s soft where it counts, my friend,” they waggled their finger, “This is some pretty juicy gossip I’ve confirmed, by the way. Did you know that Gilgamesh was courting Pandora? He’s obsessed with her, head over heels, visiting all the time. She seems to like him too.”

So… you put on her boyfriend's face and said ‘hey, wanna go out for a bit?’ stuffed her in a van and drove off? Not a bad plan, but also; ew. She paused, Wait, isn’t that… bad?

“He visits all the time?”

“Uhuh.”

“And you don’t think that might be a bad thing? You know, when he shows up next time?”

Loki frowned and tilted their head, rubbing their chin, “Well,

Odd way of saying that, but okay. What is Loki’s ability anyway? I don’t think they ever explained it to me, though I have a feeling we’ve talked during my dark periods. I hate that I can’t remember them, she thought before brushing off her gown a little, “So is this an invitation to meet her?”

Loki broke into an eager smile, “You want to?”

“Meet the person that has been riding Titania’s last nerve? Absolutely.”

–

They walked together down the small path through the trees, arm in arm, Loki had shifted back into their male appearance part way through the walk. Watching Loki use that power had been a little startling and painfully nostalgic. The trickster had used Man of Many Faces, there was no doubt in her mind. It looked exactly like when Marta used the ability herself. The only difference was the sheer speed at which Loki changed from one form to another and the casualness of it; one moment she was walking with the raven haired woman, the next Loki was a man.

“You’re wasted here, you know,” Loki said after a lengthy silence, those glowing prismatic eyes briefly flicking in her direction.

Sonya shrugged, “I’ve gotten used to it.”

Loki scowled and shook their head, “You know what I’m getting at.”

“I’m not leaving,” Sonya said flatly.

“You hate Titania,” Loki pointed out, “Why stay? As rebellious as you are one of these days she’s just going to tire of you and that’ll be the end of it.”

Sonya sighed, “I’m not going to explain myself again. We’ve had this discussion.”

“Trophy,” Loki scoffed.

Sonya’s chest felt a little heavy and her eyes went distant, she looked away even as she held on a bit tighter to the arm she was locked with. A small part of her hated the feeling, that need for someone to cling to when she was feeling miserable. She decided to deflect rather than let the feeling fester any longer, “You seem pretty content with trying to take a trophy from Titania. Aren’t you two working together?”

“An ally is not the same as a friend,” Loki pointed out, “I have very few of those.”

“You consider us friends?”

“I can tell it's a trait of your arbiter powers, a curse of some kind, you can’t lie,” Loki said casually. 

She wanted to pause half step but Loki kept her walking, she frowned in their direction as they continued speaking, “You’ve tried a couple of times to fib, I noticed. Most of the time, though, you’re honest with me because you want to be. I respect that. In our world it’s a hard thing to find,” Loki trailed off before smirking, “Even if you can be a little rude about it.”

She huffed and looked away, “Ass.”

“Unapologetically so,” Loki laughed before turning to her, “I could protect you, you know. Get you out of here. I’ve got some strong allies and-”

“Loki,” she interrupted, the words hurting her more than any of the blows and cruelties that Titania had delivered. The whippings, the brandings, the torment, it felt like tickling compared to a false hope. “Please. That’s enough,” she said, her voice raw. It wasn’t that she had given up on escaping this place, she was certain that the time discrepancy between this world and the real world was staggering. She hadn’t truly been here all that long. Yet existing for centuries within her own mind was not an easy thing to just brush away. It wore on her like a stone in a raging river. 

Loki sighed and nodded, “Fine. For now.”

She shot the trickster a look, “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Anyway!” they said, clearing their throat and gesturing to a copse of trees ahead of them. They were still somewhere within the boundaries of Titania’s domain, the trees all bore that eerie glow about them though they did not sap her strength like those flowers created by the genuine article. Ahead of them, a single figure sat in one of the trees and stared down at them with a flat expression, long black hair hanging around a pair of cold eyes. She shot Loki a look and the trickster shrugged, “Wasn’t gonna leave her unguarded.”

The man in the tree hopped down, his robes fluttering around him. He stood tall and looked down at Sonya over his nose, “Another one?”

“She’s not affiliated with the Golden Throne, she’s a friend,” Loki cut in before stepping up between them, “Sonya, this is Oorochi from the east,” the trickster began, “Oorochi, this is Sonya. A rogue Arbiter living in Titania’s court.”

Oorochi narrowed his eyes, “Pactmaker,” he hissed the word as if it were disgusting to him. He glanced up at Loki and crossed his arms, “You have poor taste in friends.”

“Have a care, serpent,” Loki growled, “I consider you a friend as well. Do you not trust my judgement?”

Oorochi glanced towards Sonya and looked her up and down. She frowned at him, not enjoying the feeling of being assessed that way. Since when have I been so sensitive? She thought, Every emotion just feels raw these days. This kind of thing wouldn’t have bothered me before. She suppressed a sigh, At least it isn’t as bad as the days leading up to - she nearly shuddered involuntarily, her mind dancing away from memories of Tokyo. 

Across from her, Oorochi considered Loki’s words before nodding, “I trust your judgement,” the serpent in the form of a man said before gesturing over his shoulder, “The prisoner is awake. We should make clear the situation before approaching the Lucid Throne,” he gave Sonya one last assessing look, “Perhaps this one’s presence can at the very least keep her from doing something regrettable.”

With that, the two mythological figures made their way through the thick gathering of trees, Loki only looking back with a small smile and a gesture to follow. Unease squirreled its way into her gut but she followed, lost in thought. When she’d properly met Pandora for the first time, the being’s ghost had been so tragically weary. A sad but composed figure who enjoyed a little of her own mischief. Someone who was just trying to make right the things she had done when she was alive. What kind of person had she been when she was still breathing? What-

“I KNEW IT!” A furious shout came through the trees while Sonya stepped through. “LOKI YOU INSUFFERABLE BASTARD!”

Sonya blinked, her head jerking back in surprise.

“Hello Panpan,” Loki sing-songed, “Enjoy your nap?”

Sonya caught a glimpse of the woman as she alighted in the tiny clearing ringed by the trees. It was clearly reshaped somehow to hide and keep their sitting prisoner. Pandora was small, with long curly blonde hair and a pretty face. Her blue eyes glimmered hatefully in the dim light around her as she crossed her arms. She had a figure that made very clear who her mother was, not just blessed by Aphrodite but carrying her blood. The mismatched expression on her face likely belonged to her father. Anger, and the promise of terrible consequences.

That anger faded into a swarthy expression as she caught her breath from her initial outburst. “You’d think two hundred years of exile would have dislodged a small amount of sense in that head of yours, Odin is going to be very disappointed,” she said and shrugged, “Mimir called it, though. As usual.”

Loki smirked, “You’re many centuries too young to be trying to use words to get under my skin.”

She tilted her head to the right and laughed, “And you’re

Sonya just stared, wide eyed, as Loki’s shoulders tensed. Their pale skin turned russet for a moment before deepening into an off-blue. What the hell was that? Oorochi took a step forward and Pandora shifted where she sat, smirking up at him with defiance. 

“Ahh and here’s the snake of the east-realms. Figures you’re here. Isn’t enough that you threw a tantrum when you lost to Wukong and ran off crying to your friend here. Now you’re Loki’s what? Guard dog?” she demanded and whipped her head towards Loki, “Where’s the rest of your motley crew? I don’t see Eris or Anansi? Did you finally chase off Set? The poor old man lose his patience with you?” she scoffed, “King of a new court, unbelievable.”

Loki was shaking at this point, their fists clenched at their sides as the browbeating continued. All the good humor gone from their face. Sonya shot a look at Oorochi who hadn’t so much as flinched under the assault. She looked back to Pandora, I need to be able to talk to her. There’s still so much I don’t know, Sonya thought and set her jaw tightly, I should take advantage of this.

She didn’t hear the crackle of thunder in the sky as she hustled over to Loki’s side, putting a hand on their arm. Loki rounded on her and scowled only to pause, meeting her eyes. She gave them an earnest look, “Easy. She’s understandably angry,” Sonya urged him, “Calm down. You just said you were too old to get riled like that. Let it go.”

Loki scoffed and turned away, “Right, right,” they muttered and turned back to the trees, “You talk to her then, I should have just kept her under that sleeping spell and dumped her at Titania’s feet. Would have been funnier that way but no, I had to be respectful,” they grumbled under their breath and walked away, “Give them room, Oorochi.”

Sonya looked to the serpent who nodded and hopped backwards, vanishing into the foliage with Loki. She let out a sigh and turned to see a pair of angry blue eyes fixed on her. You’re so much different than I-

“What are you?” Pandora demanded.

Sonya raised her eyebrows, “Excuse me?” 

“I asked you what you are. Your mana is strange, your aura is wrong, you feel like an Arbiter for some reason but no arbiter would collect that many powers for themselves. It goes against the worldpact,” she rumbled, “Answer plain, I know that you can’t lie. Did you steal that power?”

You gave it to me.

She opened her mouth to speak but the woman just kept going, “Stealing the power of an Arbiter is a high crime. You’ll face trial and have your mana cut off for this. No wonder you fled to the territory of the Fae court, coward. You-”

Sonya snorted, I couldn’t get a single iota of proper information out of you in the future but here you’re pouring it on me like rain. I can’t even begin to unpack half of what you just said. It’s… kind of refreshing to listen to you ramble. She looked the enraged woman over, You’re putting up a good front, but while they can’t see it, I can. You’re scared. Just like me. You’re tired. How long have you been struggling? How long have you been fighting? What’s your story? I want to know everything.

“Do you think this is funny?”

“Kind of,” Sonya laughed and extended a hand as a small smile stretched across her lips. “It’s nice to meet you Pandora. I’m Sonya, and I’m your friend.”